Conference Tournament Seedings on the Line in NCAA Week 11

Nothing quite screams “Memorial Day weekend is coming” than news of seasonal Hamptons restaurant openings flooding social media feeds and the ACC regular-season finale.

The former are occurring over the next several weeks. (If you care and a friendly reminder that the Hamptons are part of Long Island. Long Island is not on the way to the Hamptons.) The latter happens Thursday. (You likely care if you’re reading this.)

Next weekend’s game of the week will involve the crowning of the ACC tournament champion — and the first automatic qualifer ticket getting punched into the NCAA tournament.

But a deadlocked Ivy League and upsets across the national scene becoming a Groundhog Day affair make it feel like we have six more weeks of the regular season. The reality? Memorial Day weekend is six weeks away, but the NCAA tournament bracket remains anybody’s best guess. We might start to see some clues of who will join the “Big 3” (No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Boston College and No. 3 Northwestern) this weekend, though.

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PICK FIVE

DREXEL AT STONY BROOK 
6 P.M. EASTERN FRIDAY | WATCH: FLOSPORTS

Drexel storyline to watch: Jenika Cuocco made 17 saves in last year’s conference tournament championship game, putting the Dragons in position to knock off the heavily favored Seawolves. Drexel lost 9-6, but a repeat performance against a younger Stony Brook team could draft a different ending.

Stony Brook storyline to watch: Ellie Masera and Morgan Mitchell were critical in Stony Brook’s second-half rally the last time these teams locked horns. Neither is on the roster this year. The Seawolves will look to graduate student and leading scorer Charlotte Wilmoth (51G, 17A) to keep Cuocco on her toes and the young lineup feeling confident. 

SOUTH FLORIDA AT NO. 13 JAMES MADISON 
12 P.M. EASTERN SATURDAY | WATCH: ESPN+

South Florida storyline to watch: Florida’s exit meant JMU lost a foil in the American Athletic Conference, but USF is primed to take that mantle. Save for an unexpected loss to another first-year program, Charlotte, USF has looked promising. The high-powered offense led by Sofia Chepenik (46G, 11A) sits fourth nationally at 16.36 goals per game. How will she fare against the JMU zone?

James Madison storyline to watch: Maddie Epke has been on a tear. Last week, she posted a casual 14 goals and 24 draw controls combined in wins against Temple and Georgetown. Her eight goals against Temple matched a program record. But Epke’s prowess on the draw — a nation-leading 12.69 per game — is the Dukes’ X-factor and could limit the possessions of USF’s offense. 

NO. 9 JOHNS HOPKINS AT NO. 8 MARYLAND 
12 P.M. EASTERN SATURDAY | WATCH: BTN+

Johns Hopkins storyline to watch: Ashley Mackin entered the week fourth nationally in goals per game (4.58) and is a dark horse to be named a Tewaaraton Award finalist. She could become more of a favorite with a solid performance against Maryland.

Maryland storyline to watch: Maryland’s balanced draw unit of Kayla Gilmore, Kori Edmondson and Shelby Sullivan does a nice job of letting the Terps control the tempo. That could spell trouble for a Hopkins team that thrives on momentum. 

CORNELL AT NO. 18 PENN
12 P.M. EASTERN SATURDAY | WATCH: ESPN+

Cornell storyline to watch: Cornell won’t be an Ivy League sleeper pick if it makes the tournament. The Big Red have impressed, handing Brown its lone Ivy League loss, challenging Stanford and only losing to Princeton by one. “If” is a keyword in a razor-thin Ivy League (the same primary storyline applies to apply to Penn, Harvard and Yale below). For Cornell, the one key to success lies in an unselfish veteran attack, headlined by Caitlin Slaminko (38G, 11A), Ella Wilmot (23G, 25A) and Kylie Gelabert (22G, 26A).

Penn storyline to watch: Consistency will be critical for the Quakers, who led Yale 6-1 in the first half before falling in overtime. Penn, too, has a balanced offense — it’s hard to block one player off. Anna Brandt, Keeley Block, Catherine Berkery and Erika Chung have all amassed 30 points. The Quakers are also coming off the high of beating Princeton, the top team on the Ivy League table, on Wednesday.

NO. 7 YALE AT HARVARD
4 P.M. EASTERN SATURDAY | WATCH: ESPN+

Yale storyline to watch: It was like Jenna Collignon was onto something when she tipped an outlet pass from Penn goalie Orly Sedransk, beat a double and scored an overtime winner that kept the Bulldogs in solid contention for one of four Ivy League tournament spots last weekend. What will she do for an encore?

Harvard storyline to watch: The Crimson’s loss to Yale in last season’s Ivy League tournament semifinal sank its NCAA tournament hopes. Harvard’s offensive leaders Callie Hem and Riley Campbell are gone, but senior attacker Caroline Mullahy (17G, 39A), who had one goal and three assists in that loss, has been a force this year as the unit’s quarterback.

SNEAKY MUST-WATCH

MARQUETTE AT GEORGETOWN
12 P.M. EASTERN SATURDAY | WATCH: FS1

Georgetown and Marquette sit third and fourth in the Big East, respectively, so this one could have implications in a couple of weeks. The perennial favorite Denver might have looked down after a loss to UConn, but a recent W over Stanford proved the Pios aren’t out, and it’s unlikely either will want to draw them in the semifinals. In their first year under Caitlyn Phipps, the Hoyas have leaned on the multidimensional Hanna Bishop (24G, 28A) and Gracie Driggs (43G, 23GB, 101DC). Meg Bireley (57G, 15A) and Hanna Bodne (42G, 9A, 32GB, 43DC) pace Marquette.